A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide for the partisan election OF THE COLUMBUS COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Notwithstanding G.S. 115C‑35, the Columbus County Board of Education shall consist of five members elected to serve staggered four‑year terms. Five members shall be elected from residency districts. One member shall be elected from each residency district by the qualified voters of the entire county, excluding the area encompassing the Whiteville City School Administrative Unit. No person shall be eligible to file for or be elected to the Columbus County Board of Education unless the person is a qualified voter and resident of the residency district in which the person seeks to be elected.
SECTION 2.  Notwithstanding G.S. 115C‑37, members of the Columbus County Board of Education shall be elected on a partisan basis at the time of the general election in each even‑numbered year as terms expire. Candidates for election to the Columbus County Board of Education shall be nominated at the same time and in the same manner as other county officers. Members shall take office on the first Monday in December following their election. Members shall serve until their successors are elected and qualified.
SECTION 3.  All vacancies in the membership of the Columbus County Board of Education by death, resignation, or other causes shall be filled in accordance with G.S. 115C‑37.1.
SECTION 4.  This act does not affect the terms of office of any person elected in 2024 to the Columbus County Board of Education. Any vacancy on the Columbus County Board of Education for a member elected in 2024 shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the Columbus County Board of Education to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. When a vacancy occurs in a seat elected from a residency district, the successor shall be selected from the residency district of the vacating member. Each member of the Columbus County Board of Education elected in 2024, or any member appointed to fill a vacancy for a member elected in 2024, shall serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.
SECTION 5.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed, including the following:
(1)	Chapter 717 of the 1953 Session Laws.
(2)	Section 1 of Chapter 114 of the 1961 Session Laws.
(3)	Chapter 327 of the 1961 Session Laws.
(4)	Chapter 754 of the 1961 Session Laws.
(5)	Chapter 295 of the 1963 Session Laws.
(6)	Section 1 of Chapter 1053 of the 1969 Session Laws.
(7)	Section 3 of Chapter 192 of the 1981 Session Laws.
(8)	Section 2 of Chapter 234 of the 1983 Session Laws.
SECTION 6.  G.S. 115C‑37.1(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	This section shall apply only to the Hickory City Board of Education and the Newton‑Conover City Board of Education and in the following counties: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Beaufort, Brunswick, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Carteret, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Columbus, Craven, Dare, Davie, Forsyth, Graham, Harnett, Henderson, Hyde, Iredell, Lee, Lincoln, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Polk, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Vance, Washington, and Yancey."
SECTION 7.  This act becomes effective the first Monday in December 2026, and elections in 2026 shall be conducted accordingly.